(Health Korea News / Lee Chang-yong) Analysis has shown that electrical diagnostic devices, ophthalmic devices, catheters/cannulas, syringes, and computed tomography (CT) devices are the medical devices most likely to succeed in overseas markets in the future.
The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) said in its report “Endemic Era, Medical Device Strategic Items and Market Analysis: Potential Promising Items and Strategic Markets” published on the 30th of last month, “These medical devices currently have small export volumes and global market shares, but they are items with high potential for export expansion,” and predicted, “In particular, the U.S. market will be active in exports of electrical diagnostic devices (body composition analyzers, electrocardiogram medical devices).”
In the United States, where obesity has become a social problem, body composition analyzers are increasingly being introduced to medical institutions.
KOTRA’s New York Trade Center said, “There are increasing cases of installing Korean-made body composition analyzers not only in fitness centers in the U.S. but also in medical institutions, various public institutions, and U.S. military bases,” and “the outlook for future exports is positive.”
Electrocardiogram medical devices are also a promising export sector. The US government is investing a large amount of money as the increase in deaths from cardiovascular disease is emerging as a social problem. In 2023, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided $114 million to healthcare systems and universities across the US to reduce deaths from cardiovascular disease.
However, there is a need to prepare for the fact that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is classifying electrical diagnostic devices as cyber devices and requiring additional documentation for information security. In the case of body composition analyzers, there is an analysis that competition in the U.S. market may become fierce as the number of companies producing and exporting them is increasing.
As of 2023, Korean-made electric diagnostic devices accounted for 3.1% of the U.S. import market. The next most promising markets after the U.S. are China and Australia. India was cited as a market with favorable exports of ophthalmic devices.
Statista, a global market research firm, forecasts that the Indian ophthalmic devices market will grow at a CAGR of 7.91% to reach $790 million by 2029. This is due to the increasing demand for treatment of ophthalmic diseases (presbyopia, glaucoma, cataracts, vitreoretinal diseases, refractive errors, etc.) due to the widespread use of smartphones and the increase in the elderly population.
India has 100 million diabetics, and the number of patients with diabetic retinopathy is also on the rise.
A marketing official from a local medical equipment distributor said in an interview with KOTRA, “We believe there are a significant number of patients with eye diseases throughout India due to air pollution and slash-and-burn farming in rural areas,” adding, “As a result, the number of ophthalmic hospitals is increasing and awareness of eye health is improving, so demand for ophthalmic devices will continue to increase.”
The official said, “India is still not well aware of Korean ophthalmic devices,” and advised, “If Korea wants to enter the Indian ophthalmic devices market, it needs to open local dealerships or provide after-sales services such as quality assurance and free repairs.”
Last year, the share of the Indian import market for Korean ophthalmic devices was 2.5%, a slight increase (0.2%p) over the past five years. The next promising markets after India are France, Italy, and Brazil.
Japan is evaluated to have a bright outlook for catheter and cannula exports.
The import market for catheters, cannulas, etc. in Japan has shown a gradual growth trend with an average annual growth of 3.2% over the past five years (2019-2023), but the import volume was ranked 5th in the world at 2.452 billion dollars. Last year, 100 million dollars worth of imports were made from Korea. It is estimated that medical needles were mainly imported rather than catheters, cannulas, blood transfusion sets, and IV sets.
KOTRA Osaka Trade Center predicted that “the number of outpatients has recently recovered to pre-pandemic levels, increasing the demand for catheters, cannulas, blood transfusion sets, and IV sets,” and “the high value-added diagnosis and ablation treatment (percutaneous transluminal myocardial ablation) market will grow in the future.”
In an interview with KOTRA, the head of a medical device import/export and consulting firm said, “(In Japan) catheters and cannulas require medical device Class 2 approval,” and “You need to choose a distributor that can obtain the approval and supply to dealers throughout Japan.”
As of last year, the market share of Korean catheters and cannulas in Japan was 4.3%. Belgium, Brazil, and Canada are the next most promising markets after Japan.
The promising market for syringes was the United States.
Grand View Research, a market research firm, estimated the U.S. syringe market size at $2.55 billion in 2023 and projected that it would grow at a CAGR of 5.5% from 2024 to 2033.
In the United States, as the number of patients with adult diseases such as cancer and diabetes and geriatric diseases due to the aging population increases, the demand for syringes is also increasing along with medical services. Recently, the demand for self-administered syringes has been increasing.
Recently, our companies have had a hard time exporting due to being pushed out by low-priced Chinese syringes. However, the US government plans to raise tariffs on Chinese medical devices by 2026. This is an area where our companies can expect windfall profits. However, KOTRA explained that windfall profits may be limited as imports of Mexican syringes with price competitiveness are also increasing.
As of last year, the market share of Korean syringes in the US was 1.7%. Following the US, China and Australia were cited as promising markets.
The export potential of computed tomography (CT) equipment is highly regarded in China.
China is seeing a growing demand for CT due to its aging population and increasing number of chronically ill patients. The number of CT equipment per million people is 27, which is significantly lower than other advanced countries (Japan 111, Australia 47, the United States 44, and Korea 40 as of 2021). China plans to increase the number of CT equipment per million people to 46 by 2025.
In an interview with KOTRA, the director of the Guangdong Medical Equipment Association said, “Among Korean products, the cone beam CT (CBCT) used in dentistry is famous, and brands such as HDX and Vatec are also highly recognized,” and added, “Guangzhou Huangfuku Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Toen City Songtao County Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, and Nanning City Masan County Health Center have a history of importing Korean CTs.”
Last year, the market share of Korean CT equipment in China was 5.5%. The next most promising market after China was Japan.
A KOTRA official said, “In order to develop these medical devices into major export items, we need to make R&D investments with a long-term perspective,” and “It is important to discover new markets and improve export competitiveness.”
KOTRA explained that these promising markets were selected based on the following criteria: ▲growth potential (markets where the average annual total import growth rate of the product is greater than the growth rate of the amount imported from Korea), ▲import scale (total imports of USD 5 million or more in 2023), and ▲import trend (countries where the average annual total import growth rate of the product in question has been positive over the past five years and the average annual growth rate of the amount imported from Korea is -10% or more).
Meanwhile, it was analyzed that Korean implants, X-ray equipment parts, dental X-ray equipment, dental equipment, and contact lenses are items that are competitive in the global market, but may have limitations in continuously expanding exports.
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